I picked up the text for the class, a screenwriting book by a guy named Syd Fields. I decided I would read it before classes started to get a bit ahead in my understanding.  I am about halfway through the book and I have run into something that has gotten me rethinking some things.  His style of writing is very structured, which is a little challenging for me as I tend to be a bit more of a discovery writer, but his contention that you should decide on the ending of the story first is interesting to me.

Endings are hard.  I can’t count the number of story fragments I have had, over the years, that I let drop because I could not figure out how to end them. This idea has gotten me thinking. I may have to try that the next time I write a story.  I have more than a few friends who are writers of various stripes.  How many of you guys use a method like this?

PENDANT PRODUCTIONS PROUDLY PRESENTS:

Original art by Jerry Gaylord for Pendant Productions

Superman: The Last Son of Krypton, Issue 78 – “A Guest Unbidden”

Lois catches up with friends while Lobo makes a deal with Superman!

Superman: The Last Son of Krypton is a serialized, full-cast audio adventure with one new episode every month! Available for free download in .mp3 format or as a Podcast.

Also available — a commentary track with the director and writer!

iTunes link:
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=202788270

Podcast feed:
http://www.pendantaudio.com/superman-podcast.xml

Download link:
http://www.pendantaudio.com/superman.php

PENDANT PRODUCTIONS PROUDLY PRESENTS:

Original art by Peng-Peng for Pendant Productions

Supergirl: Lost Daughter of Krypton, Issue 50 – “It’s the Tally Show, Starring Tally”

Metallo is trapped inside his mind while Kara and Kal fight for their lives!

Also availble this month is our Issue 50 Anniversary Reel!

Supergirl: Lost Daughter of Krypton is a serialized, full-cast audio adventure with one new episode every month! Available for free download in .mp3 format or as a Podcast.

Also available — a commentary track with the director and writer!

iTunes link:
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=256710457

Podcast feed:
http://www.pendantaudio.com/supergirl-podcast.xml

Download link:
http://www.pendantaudio.com/supergirl.php

“Superman: The Last Son of Krypton” features the voice talents of:

Ryan H. Nelson as Superman
Susan Bridges as Lois Lane
Dragonblink as Supergirl
Adam Bell as John Henry Irons
Kristen Bays as Maggie Sawyer
Jeremiah McCoy as Dan Turpin
Bruce Busby as Bibbo Bibbowski and Lobo
Anna Rodriguez as Lucy Lane
Bill Young as Dr. Anderson
Jessie Moore as Natasha Irons
Cira as the Barkeep
and H Keith Lyons as the customer

Written by Jeffrey Bridges
Directed by Jared Page
Cover art by Jerry Gaylord
Edited by Teresa Keller
Continuity Editor Kristen Bays
Produced by Pendant Productions
Executive Producer Jeffrey Bridges
“Supergirl: Lost Daughter of Krypton” features the voice talents of:

Dragon X. Blink as Supergirl
Ryan H. Nelson as Superman
Jeffrey Bridges as Metallo
Megan Pressley as Ayumi
M Sieiro Garcia as Miranda
Michael Liebmann as Sebastian
Anna Rodriguez as Hypnosa
Bruce Busby as Lobo
Cira as the Barkeep
and Jeffrey Bridges, Jack Calk, Jared Page and Kathryn Pryde as the Alien Extras

Written by Dragon X. Blink
Directed by Teresa Keller
Cover art by Peng-Peng
Edited by Teresa Keller
Continuity Editor Kristen Bays
Produced by Pendant Productions
Executive Producer Jeffrey Bridges

http://www.pendantaudio.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pendant
http://thefranchize.deviantart.com
http://peng-peng.deviantart.com

Thanks for listening!

Superman issue 77 and Supergirl issue 49!

PENDANT PRODUCTIONS PROUDLY PRESENTS:

Original art by Jerry Gaylord for Pendant Productions

Superman: The Last Son of Krypton, Issue 77 – “The Vast Immeasurable Abyss”

Lois grills a CEO and dresses-down a general while Superman and Supergirl journey deeper into the abyss!

Superman: The Last Son of Krypton is a serialized, full-cast audio adventure with one new episode every month! Available for free download in .mp3 format or as a Podcast.

Also available — a commentary track with the director and writer!

iTunes link:
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=202788270

Podcast feed:
http://www.pendantaudio.com/superman-podcast.xml

Download link:
http://www.pendantaudio.com/superman.php

PENDANT PRODUCTIONS PROUDLY PRESENTS:

Original art by Peng-Peng for Pendant Productions

Supergirl: Lost Daughter of Krypton, Issue 49 – “Mind Over Madness”

Madness threatens Kal and Kara while heroes and villains close in on Metallo!

Supergirl: Lost Daughter of Krypton is a serialized, full-cast audio adventure with one new episode every month! Available for free download in .mp3 format or as a Podcast.

Also available — a commentary track with the director and writer!

iTunes link:
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=256710457

Podcast feed:
http://www.pendantaudio.com/supergirl-podcast.xml

Download link:
http://www.pendantaudio.com/supergirl.php

“Superman: The Last Son of Krypton” features the voice talents of:

Ryan H. Nelson as Superman
Susan Bridges as Lois Lane
Dragonblink as Supergirl
MJ Cogburn as Martha Kent
Bill Fisher as Jonathan Kent
Geary McAllister as Sam Lane
Lyn Cullen as Ella Lane
Anna Rodriguez as Lucy Lane
Jeremiah McCoy as Dan Turpin
Kristen Bays as Maggie Sawyer
Jared Page as Snapper Carr
and Laura Frechette as Lorelei Leland

Written by Jeffrey Bridges
Directed by Jared Page
Cover art by Jerry Gaylord
Edited by Teresa Keller
Continuity Editor Kristen Bays
Produced by Pendant Productions
Executive Producer Jeffrey Bridges
“Supergirl: Lost Daughter of Krypton” features the voice talents of:

Dragon X. Blink as Supergirl
Ryan H. Nelson as Superman
Jeffrey Bridges as Metallo
Megan Pressley as Ayumi
Melissa Hearne as Cameron Gage
and Anna Rodriguez as Hypnosa

Written by Dragon X. Blink
Directed by Teresa Keller
Assistant Director Dragon X. Blink
Cover art by Peng-Peng
Edited by Teresa Keller
Continuity Editor Kristen Bays
Produced by Pendant Productions
Executive Producer Jeffrey Bridges

http://www.pendantaudio.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pendant
http://thefranchize.deviantart.com
http://peng-peng.deviantart.com

Thanks for listening!

 
We are still figuring out the flow of the spell casting and action scenes.  It is interesting to watch the guys who are super rules wonks learn their way around the system, and then become the guides to the folks less focused on the rules. It is hard to do the sort of prep I would like while I am also doing school work, but I will figure it out.  I am pleased at things so far.  Now, I need to make time to just be a player in a game sometime.

I chose as my media, games.  Specifically, I chose table top RPG’s such as Dungeons and Dragons.  This is a media which is both print and interactive. These are photos of dual games running at the same time in the local game store, Organized play.

The photos were taken the Living Forgotten Realms event at Organized Play in Knoxville, TN.

You can find it here.

I hope you like what you see.

Case in point, I played Empire Builder with my mom recently.  She has loved that game for years. I played it with her back when, I was in college the first time.   I enjoyed it back then as well.  Recently though, we played and I had long ago forgotten most of the rules.   Sitting down and playing, I began criticizing the game design.  I got locked out of action for several turns, as did someone else at the table.  I began talking about how that was bad design at the table, and I think that is where I began to go wrong.  Being critical is often an unpleasant experience for the people around you.  Mom did not have as much fun, despite winning.  I didn’t really enjoy myself that much either, because I was focusing on what was wrong.

I have been on the receiving end of this. I have tried to run games for people and had the fun in running the game drain away because some of the players kept focusing about how bad the game was.  They would joke about it at the table.  Normally in conversation, I would likely agree with them, but it killed my enthusiasm for the game.  Everyone involved did not have as much fun as we could have had.  I don’t think the player was wrong about his criticisms.  I don’t even mind him bring them to me, but that should have started a different conversation.  It should have been “I don’t feel like playing this game and this is why”.

So, am I saying being a rules wonk is a bad thing? No.  Being able to analyze, understand and critique a subject does often increase your enjoyment of that thing.  I love comics.  More importantly, I made a point of learning about the art and storytelling in comics, so now I can enjoy them even more. I can pick up on subtle nuances and influences. It makes the reading experience much more rich.  It is the same with games.  If you know more about the games, you will appreciate the nice new mechanic,  and the simple ways of conveying story.  You gain something with the analysis, but you can loose the ability to simply play and enjoy game.  There are too many examples I can think of, where someone would decry the horrible game design in games they got hours of enjoyment out of.  First and second edition D&D were games that many of us started on.  They were brilliant.  By modern standards in game design, the thinking in them is out of date, but damn it we had fun playing them.

What I am saying, is don’t let your critical mind get in the way of enjoying the experience or ruin it for someone else.  I have done a podcast critiquing games.  It was my job to find problems in computer games at the last company i worked for.  This may predispose me to find fault in games, but I shouldn’t be so vocal about those critiques when I am at the table.  It will not help anyone there have fun, not even me.  I would suggest to other game rules gear heads, would be designers, and critics to look out for it in themselves.  We all love to talk rules. There is nothing wrong with sharing your thoughts on a game, but save it for the right venue.  If you can’t relax and enjoy the game despite it’s flaws, then don’t play.   Explain it to the group and say, this is not their fault, but the game is not for you.  Maybe they pick another game to play, or you don’t get in on that game.  Either way, clear it up before you get to the game table. Don’t be vitriolic or rant about it.  You may not like the game, but others might.  It is not your job to convince your friends how wrong they are.

As an added note on larps, you are often asked for feedback on the larp events.  There are some people, who treat this as an opportunity to tear down every minor annoyance they had in a game.  There are some people who are completely insensitive and become vitriolic in their feedback.   What are these people thinking?  Maybe they tell themselves “we were just being honest.”?     “Just being honest” is often code for “I am profoundly unhappy person who wants all attention focused on me and when it isn’t i will be an asshole till you give me what I want.” What it does do is wear down the COMPLETELY VOLUNTEER STAFF.   You are killing their fun.  Their desire to keep running the game is diminished.   It is okay to express concerns.  They want to know when people are not having fun, but don’t let yourself treat them like strangers.  Just because the feedback is not face to face, does not mean you should suddenly forget these people are often your friends, or in the least are putting in a lot of effort without any tangible reward, so you can have fun.

I think will settle into the routine a bit more and I will make more time.  The first few weeks should be a time of adjustment as you get used to the new work load.  All of that said, I am paying for some things I really don’t need to be.  World of Warcraft is not really a good investment for me.  I am not spending time doing it, and for a while now, when I did get on I couldn’t play wiht the people I wanted to.  They out leveled me a while back, or they are not on as often any more themselves.  Either way, I am just not having much fun in the game even when I can play.

What I am going to do is cancel it and uninstall it.  I need the hard drive space anyway.   I have a number of single player games I can play when i have the time. Also, there are too many quality free MMO’s to play if I want to do that.  I may get too the point I have time for social gaming online.  When that happens, I will post something to my friends seeing if they want to play some free game with me.  Champions online seems a good one for me, or Lord of the Rings online.

I am going to make some time to do some more tabletop gaming.  I need the social interaction if nothing else. It is easy to let school eat you up and depression can set in as all you seem to do is school.  Table top gaming has always been a bit more rewarding, anyway.  How and where I get that type of gaming in is still a work in progress.

For those interested, school is going pretty good.  There are some subjects I am better at than others.  I am tired of being the broke college student and I will be glad when that phase is done.

http://google.com
When I originally composed this post I specified gmail, but let me rather say Google as a whole. I use GMail and from there I can get social networking, phone calls, video conferencing, and task management.  Add to that, google calender where I track my classes, gaming sessions, and other important events.   Also, add Google Reader, which allows me to track feeds from over a hundred sites including news from Reuters, all the major blogs I follow, and updates from the blogs of friends.  I can easily share links with my contacts in gmail, and  I even do a lot of my writing in google through Google Docs.  I work on a number of projects, where I need to share creative work with others, and Google doc’s makes that so easy, as we can both edit the same document.  Google is my one stop shop for a lot of the things I do online.

http://boingboing.net
Boing Boing is a simple blog, but it is a blog run by some very savvy people.  They share fascinating bits from around the internet. Whether it is the news of some new political movement, or a scientific breakthrough, or even a new book release from a favorite author, it is always interesting and well thought out.  If it is cool, eclectic or smart, it has probably shown up on Boing Boing.

http://temporaryhitpoints.com
I was going to list another geeky news site, but I decided to list one I actually work on.  Temporary Hitpoints is a 4th Edition Dungeons and Dragons blog, providing support for players of the game.  I am one of the bloggers who contributes to it.  I have been helping out on the site since it’s launch.

The episode is meant to be a review of the new D&D series.  We meander in the beginning on some recent news from WotC and I get a bit curmudgeonly, but all in good fun.  You should go and give the show a listen.